The story of “Paul Kotzatie,” the bogus Russian soldier from Henan, is not just a case of outlandish CGI fakery. It is a reminder that in China the right to speak, and the right to be heard, is ultimately in the hands of those in power.
At a recent journalism forum in Phnom Penh, the head of an organization claiming to represent local Chinese-language media spoke out against fake news — as he spread false narratives directly from China’s foreign ministry and state media outlets.
As press authorities campaign against “fake news” their solutions leave the roots of the problem unaddressed.
In the midst of tightening controls, real “fake news” is published with impunity while real news is attacked as “fake” by government officials who fear exposure.
By Qian Gang — Four publications in China are now being purged for supposed violations of propaganda discipline. As Xinhua News Agency reported on November 24: “In 2006, Shanghai Securities News ran a fake news report about the concentration of China’s wealth in the hands of a few super-wealthy sons and daughters of businesspeople and […]
In a tongue-in-cheek critique recalling the recent debate in China over “fake news” and a now-questioned news report about “cardboard dumplings” from Beijing TV, Hong Kong journalist Leung Man-to (梁文道) suggested in a mainland editorial today that party media reconsider use of improbable thank-you-Communist-Party quotes in news coverage of emergency situations. Leung’s editorial referred to […]
By some Chinese accounts, “fake news”, or xujia xinwen, has plagued news media in China since at least the Cultural Revolution, at which time media fabricated news to suit the political purposes of the Gang of Four. It is an extremely fuzzy term, and obviously, while it may be used by Chinese officialdom in campaigns […]
Liu Chang explores a 1999 news story that caused a stir across China, about the discovery of a man who was purportedly 160 years old. Liu’s piece takes an in-depth look at the phenomenon of fake news in China. [LINK HERE]
Liu Chang explores a 1999 news story that caused a stir across China, about the discovery of a man who was purportedly 160 years old. Liu’s piece takes an in-depth look at the phenomenon of fake news in China. [LINK HERE]
“Zero-dollar shopping” videos depicting America as a lawless hellscape where woke politics mean criminals now go unpunished have been going viral for years within China and on Chinese-language social media abroad. What lies behind this strange trend?
